YINCHUAN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region saw its foreign trade surge 66.8 percent year on year to reach 17.41 billion yuan (about 2.52 billion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of 2022, local customs authorities said.

Of the total, exports rose 76.1 percent year on year to 13.93 billion yuan, said Yinchuan customs.

During this period, Ningxia's foreign trade with the European Union, the United States, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations stood at 3.65 billion yuan, 1.7 billion yuan, and 1.64 billion yuan, respectively, up 100 percent, 65.2 percent, and 21.9 percent from the previous year.

From January to August, the imports and exports of private enterprises in the region reached 12.23 billion yuan, up 72.7 percent year on year.